The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-11-14
A speech by Senator Butler.

Senator Butler of South Carolina, spoke
at Columbia, Wednesday, in reference to
the relation of South Carolina to the Fed
eral Government and her individual rights.
Gen. Butler spoke at length. He said the
people cry the Federal Constitution is
thing of the past. Under it the States have
not the rights they had before the war.
Where is the changel Why, only in the
thirteenth, fourteenth and fifteenth amend
ments. Not another line has been changed,
and as far as the rights of the States
are concerned, the Constitution to-
day is the same as in 1860. Congress, the
speaker said, was usurping the rights OF the
States, but there was a man at the head OF
the nation, Grover Cleveland, who re-
spected those sacred rights. The dangerous
tendency of the times was the calling upon
Congress to settle Individual matters and
to take jurisdiction in cases where it had no
right under the laws and the constitution OF
the United States. Congress was attempt
ing to assume the power of the Parliament
of Great Britain.
In speaking of Cleveland Senator Butler
said the President had been denounced i'll
this State as well as others for his civil SER
vice policy. This policy of the President
was simply unfolding the laws which he
himself (3utler) and his friends on the
stand had helped to pass. 1t ill-becomes
any man in South Carolina to criticise the
President for this action. Whatever it has
done for other States, it has been every
thing for South Carolina. When Cleveland
leaves his Office there will not be many Re-
publicans in office. Voice in the audience,
decidedly unsteady: But they are there
rate there are none in South Carolina"
Senator Butler spoke for some time on the
cIprlnc in tha TraaG1IrU When aSknd how
he would reduce it he said he would start by
taking the tax of 50 per cent. off salt and 60
per cent. off a hat or piece of cloth. he
read statistics on tariff rates and showed the
enormous tax put upon the people by the
present tariff system. He was convinced
that no laboring man was protected
by the tariff If so, VIII was there
so much discomfort, bloody riots,
strikes, ETC., among American laborers2
The real reason of such discomfort
was that Congress passed laws strengthen
ing capital and crushing individual efforts.
The money went into capitalists pockets
that was taken from labor. Cleveland was
blamed for the surplus in the treasury,
when he Butler and his colleagues on the
tand were ten thousand times more respon-
sible and yet unable to prevent it. We
have profound cause for congratulation that
a man like Cleveland is at the head
that contemplate Haunting Of the
bloody shirt thing of the
past. The foundation of the government
was the right of home rule-the right of the
people to regulate their own affairs with
due regard to the general government, and
he hoped the time would never come when
the people of this State would ever give up
their rights. Senator Butler gave United
States Judge Bond terrible scoring when
referring to the oppression of the people in
this State, and wished it understood that he
was willing to reiterate his remarks in New
York, Washington, or anywhere else.